Look Past the Smile
by Raiinne
Summary: The smiles you see aren't always how they appear. Old man Teuchi lost the only small light that he had left, but he still had a business to run and with customer service comes a smile that must always be offered to the customers. Naruto, hated by the village but smiles brightly in the face of their scorn even when he's really hurting. Can the two help each other truly smile again?


Prologue

"And stay out vermin!"

With a snarl of disgust, the aging caretaker of the orphanage roughly pushed the small blonde boy, no older than five years old out onto the muddy road, only made worse by the light rain falling from the evening sky.

The poor blond boy didn't stand a chance as the rough push was enough to land him face first into the mud, the muffled slam of the door was all he heard over the slight patter of the rain and a face full of mud.

"Bitch.."

This of course was uttered by none other than a young Naruto Uzumaki, son of the late and beloved Fourth Hokage.

However nobody but a select few knew of that small fact, he was only known by a different moniker.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox

Picking himself up from the ground and wiping as much of the mud off as he could, with no shortage of colourful language along the way, the now scuffed up, dirty boy in rags trudged his way forward, the weak rumbling of his stomach signalling that he was too hungry to care where his feet took him.

Usually, he would simply go see his the old man with the funny hat, but not even the closest person to family the young boy had was able to penetrate the young boy's gloomy mood.

For those who knew of the blond, this would seem uncharacteristic, this did not go unnoticed by the few villagers who were still out, presumably heading home after a hard day, or going out for a long night of partying

No matter the reason, there was one thing they all had in common.

That was the complete neglect for the poor starving child shuffling along the streets.

Unfortunately, this wasn't an uncommon sight, Naruto would more often than not be left to himself scouring for food wherever he could find it. Now it would just be a more permanent thing. The young boy grumbled to himself at the thought all the dumpster diving he'd be doing in the future, the kinds of things he found in there didn't exactly get him excited.

With the thoughts of progressively worse meals began to make him physically gag, a new smell wafted through the air abruptly making the young boy stop, all dumpster thoughts ceased as he turned his head to the small little stand draped with material to stop the weather from bothering anyone who decided to eat there. Almost in a trance, the scruffy blond haired youth slipped underneath, barely even hitting the bottom of the tarp like material. Noticing the empty stools he quickly climbed atop of one so he could see over the counter barely registering anything else other than the heavenly smell that invaded all of his senses. This was the scene that the old man who owned the establishment walked in on. The interesting sight of a small child who looked like he could be blown over by a gentle breeze leaning over his counter dangerously on the stool, eyes closed in blissful pleasure as if the young boy would be able to eat through the smell of the food alone.

"Can I-"

Before he could finish the sudden intrusion his voice made seemed to be all that was needed to break Naruto's concentration, completely tipping him over the counter as he slipped on the stool, landing on the other side of the counter roughly. The owner of the small ramen stand could only look on with a sweatdrop as the young boy in rags began grumbling with rather colorful language as he rubbed the back of his head trying to clamber back up to look at him indignantly.

"Oi, what was that for Old Man! Ya scared the shit outta me!"

Ichiraku could only look down at the accusingly pointed finger and glare of the young child with barely contained mirth.

"I should be asking you that brat. What do you think you're doing here eh?"

That seemed to make the irate boy calm down considerably, making a complete 180-degree switch from accusing to bashful as he drew into himself and looked away, barely muttering under his breath a response.

The ramen stand owner was about to ask what he actually said before he was interrupted by a large gurgling sound that shouldn't have belonged to a full-grown Akimichi, let alone this small boy.

As Naruto managed to withdraw into himself more than before as his cheeks lit up, Ichiraku gave him a good proper look before grimacing. He recognized the boy now. He turned away which prompted the boy to look up, his face falling from his previous embarrassment to sad resignation. Naruto glanced around to see if there was any way he could make his way out of this situation quietly but was surprised when the old man gestured for him to follow over his shoulder as he walked into the back of the shop. Confused Naruto decided to follow but made sure to be cautious. Not that he really thought he could do anything if the situation turned hairy but it paid to be careful. The orphanage taught him quickly after all. He was interrupted in his musings as the old man in front of him stopped. Lost as he was in his own thoughts he almost ran into the back of the shop owner. 'So much for being careful' Naruto grimaced which looked really strange on his young face as he looked around the room. He hadn't been expecting to see small lounging area that held two older looking gray armchairs, a simple black table between them. The room wasn't large, the only other bit of decor was a small potted cactus in the corner looking rather out of place, near a door that seemed to lead to a small extra kitchen.

"Sit, I'll fetch you something to eat."

Naruto once again found himself surprised out of his thoughts as he saw the man walk into the kitchen. He had been so distracted that he only just realized that the intoxicating smell from before was actually coming from there.

Naruto clambered up into one of the chairs, content with waiting. Nobody had been this nice to him before and he definitely didn't want to stuff it up. Shortly after, the old man walked back out, a bowl of steaming hot ramen in each hand. He handed the boy one without a word, chopsticks already split and ready inside. He muttered a quick thank you before awkwardly grabbing the chopsticks and taking his first tentative taste.

Teuchi could only look at the young child in wonder as he got to witness the first true smile of one Naruto Uzumaki, for the briefest moment, he saw a young girl with long dark brown hair smiling in his place before vanishing just as quickly it had shown up. The old Ichiraku could only shake his head of those depressing thoughts, quietly settling into his chair and cracking open his own chopsticks, and for the first time in two years the slightest of smiles could be seen gracing his weathered exterior as he ate with the son of one of the greatest men he had had the pleasure of meeting.

 **A/N**

 **So if you hadn't guessed this story is going to be slow so if you're expecting action fast probably not gonna find it here.  
Anyways I'm sure you can make out a little of how things have been changed a little by yourself but I hope you stick around.  
Any critique is helpful, flames count as reviews right? **


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